Take pizza night up a notch with these sourdough calzones. Made with a flavorful sourdough crust, fill each calzone with sauce, cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings, like red onion, green peppers, or sausage – the options are endless! 

sourdough calzone cut in half on a plate with another plate and calzones in the background

Pizza night is always a big hit in our house. Sometimes it is a weekly occurrence. It’s a great way to clean out the fridge and pantry if you have things like peppers or onions about to go bad or if you need to use up cheese. 

Last week I mixed up my sourdough crust in the morning so it would have time to bulk rise all day. I was planning on making our usual pizzas, but then I had an idea – calzones!

It ended up being so much fun. Each kiddo was able to make a small calzone of their own and add their favorite toppings. It may have been a bigger hit than regular pizza night. 

This sourdough calzones recipe is so easy and delicious, I guarantee you’ll be making this on repeat. 

four calzones on a white and blue spotted beacon on marble countertop

What is a Calzone?

A calzone is a turnover, typically filled with the ingredients you find on a pizza, and baked in the oven. This Italian dish is made using a leavened pizza dough. 

What’s Inside a Calzone?

Calzone filling can vary. It typically includes some variation of sauce, cheese, meat, and veggies.

Here are just a few ideas :

  • Classic Pepperoni Calzone – Keep it simple with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and pepperoni. Add a little ricotta for some extra creaminess, too. 
  • Meat Lovers – Pack your calzone with salami, ham, sausage, and pepperoni. 
  • Buffalo Chicken – Trade out the marinara for buffalo sauce and add shredded chicken and blue cheese. 
  • Vegetarian โ€‹- Add in your favorite veggies – spinach, peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc. 
a calzone made with sourdough pizza dough sliced in half on a cream colored plate with more calzones in the background
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Make It Your Own – The best part about a calzone is getting creative with the filling. Make a fancy, delicious calzone with goat cheese and caramelized onion or keep it simple with a classic like pepperoni. 

The Whole Family Can Help  – Have everyone make their own calzone and pick their filling. It’s fun for the kids, and there’s no fighting over what toppings to add.

Easy to Make Ahead of Time – This is a great make-ahead dinner to have on hand for those nights you are in a pinch. Make the dough and store the dough ball in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also freeze after it’s risen and been divided. Another option is to put the calzones together and either freeze unbaked or after they are baked and cooled.  

Tips

  • Once you add your filling and fold the dough over, don’t forget to pinch the dough together, fold and pinch again. This extra fold and pinching will ensure none of the filling oozes out during baking.
  • I like to use a pizza stone to bake these. You can also use a cookie sheet. If you do, I recommend using a piece of parchment paper so the calzones do not stick and for easy clean up.  
  • For best results, use an active sourdough starter for this recipe. Learn how to make a sourdough starter here and how to maintain one here

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here.

overhead photo of pizza dough, pizza sauce, olive oil, pepperoni, and cheese on a wood cutting board

Ingredients

For the Dough

Active Sourdough Starter – For this recipe, you want your starter to be active and bubbly. Feed it 4 to 12 hours before you begin to make your dough.

Flour – I use all purpose flour.

Water

Salt – This is really important! Otherwise you will end up with a very bland dough. I prefer to use sea salt for the best flavor. 

Olive Oil

For the Filling

Sauce – We typically go with a marinara sauce, but you could also do an Alfredo sauce here, too. 

Mozzarella Cheese – Learn how to make your own mozzarella cheese here

Add Ins (optional) – Use your favorite pizza toppings to make these your own creations. We love pepperoni, bell peppers, and sautรฉed mushrooms. 

Olive Oil

Tools You May Need

Large Mixing Bowl 

Stand Mixerย 

Cutting Board (optional) – If you need to chop any of your add ins. 

Rolling Pin

Pizza Stone or Baking Sheetย 

three sourdough clones on a blue and white speckled plate

How to Make Sourdough Calzones

The morning you plan to make calzones, add the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer. 

Using a dough hook, mix the dough on medium mixer speed until the dough passes the windowpane test. This can take up to 10 minutes or more. 

The windowpane test is when you take a small piece of dough and are able to stretch it so thin, you can see through it without it breaking. 

Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for about 8 hours. 

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

a women cutting sourdough pizza dough with a bench scraper on a quartz countertop

Split the dough into 4 for large calzones or into 6 for small ones.

four pictures of building calzones with dough, sauce, cheese, pepperonis.

Roll each ball of dough out into a circle about 1/4 inch think.

Add sauce and toppings on one half of the dough, leaving an edge around the dough.

spreading olive oil onto a calzone with a silicon brush on a wood cutting board

Fold it in half to create a half circle, pinch dough together. Then roll dough over around the edges and pinch again.

four unbaked calzones on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Brush with olive oil. Cut 2-3 slits on the top with a knife or razor blade. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes if you are making 4 and 15 – 20 minutes for smaller calzones or until fully cooked through and golden in color.

hand holding a half of a calzone up with more calzones on plates in the background

Bakers Timeline

9 PM: Feed your sourdough starter.

โ€‹The Next Morning

9 AM: Mix together the dough. Let it rest at room temperature for about 8 hours. 

5 PM: Split the dough, roll it out into a circle. Fill each calzone circle with sauce, cheese, and toppings. Fold over. 

5:15-5:30 PM: Bake the calzones.

How to Store and Reheat Sourdough Calzones

If you have leftover calzones, you can store in an airtight container in the fridge or you can freeze baked calzones. I would suggest flash freezing them first on a baking sheet before adding them to a Ziploc bag. 

Reheat calzones in the oven or toaster oven until warmed through. 

If you are planning to make these ahead of time, you can just make the dough and store in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze after it’s risen and been divided. You can also freeze unbaked calzones. 

sourdough calzones cut in half on a cream colored plate on a marble countertop. More calzones are in the background

FAQ

Is calzone dough different from pizza dough?

Nope! You can use the same dough to make a pizza to make a calzone. I use my sourdough pizza crust for this recipe.ย 

Is sourdough good for pizza dough?

Absolutely! What is sourdough not good for? It gives an extra boost of flavor that just can’t be beat.ย 

What’s the difference between sourdough and normal pizza dough?

The only difference between a sourdough pizza crust and a regular pizza crust is the type of yeast used. A typical pizza dough is made with commercial yeast, while a sourdough dough is made with the wild yeast from a sourdough starter.ย 

More Sourdough Dinner Ideas

Self-Paced Online Course

Simple Sourdough

What’s in this course?

  • Make your own robust starter
  • Bake your first loaves of sourdough bread
  • Understand sourdough better
  • Expand your sourdough bread repertoire
  • Download my Complete Recipe Book

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone

Homemade Sourdough Calzone Recipe

5 from 7 votes
Take pizza night up a notch with these sourdough calzones. Made with a flavorful sourdough crust, fill each calzone with sauce, cheese, and your favorite pizza toppings, like red onion, green peppers, or sausage – the options are endless!ย 
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Additional Time: 8 hours
Total: 8 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 4 people
four calzones on a blue and white speckled plate on a marble countertop
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Equipment

  • 1 Large Bowl
  • 1 Rolling Pin
  • 1 Baking Stone or Cookie Sheet

Ingredients 

For the dough

  • 1/2 cup active sourdough starter , 113g
  • 4 cups flour , 600g
  • 1 1/2 cups water , 354g
  • 2 teaspoons salt, 10 g
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil , 26.6 g

For the filling

  • 1/4 cup sauce
  • 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
  • Favorite toppings
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, to brush on top of the calzones

Instructions 

  • The morning you plan to make calzones, add the ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer.
  • Using a dough hook, mix the dough on medium mixer speed until the dough passes the windowpane test. This can take up to 10 minutes or more.
  • The windowpane test is when you take a small piece of dough and are able to stretch it so thin, you can see through it without it breaking.
  • Place in an oiled bowl and cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for about 8 hours.
  • Preheat oven to 425.
  • Split the dough into 4 for large calzones or into 6 for small ones.
  • Roll each ball of dough out into a circle about 1/4 inch think.
  • Add sauce and toppings to one half of the rolled out dough, leaving an edge around the dough.
  • Fold it in half to create a half circle, pinch dough together. Then roll dough over around the edges and pinch again.
  • Brush with olive oil. Cut 2-3 slits on the top with a knife or razor blade.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes if you are making 4 and 15 – 20 minutes for smaller calzones or until fully cooked through and golden in color.

Notes

  • Once you add your filling and fold the dough over, don’t forget to pinch the dough together, fold and pinch again. This extra fold and pinching will ensure none of the filling oozes out during baking.
  • I like to use a pizza stone to bake these. You can also use a cookie sheet. If you do, I recommend using a piece of parchment paper so the calzones do not stick and for easy clean up. ย 
  • For best results, use an active sourdough starter for this recipe.ย 

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Calories: 749kcal | Carbohydrates: 105g | Protein: 27g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 1639mg | Potassium: 245mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 412IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 417mg | Iron: 6mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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5 from 7 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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16 Comments

  1. Ariela says:

    When you have shaped the calzones and they’re ready to bake, can they be frozen to take them out and bake, or do they have to be baked immediately after shaping?